Rest In Play - 2020 - 2029

Mike Edwards, a legendary figure in the British toy industry and 2008 Golden Teddy honouree, has died. Edwards was a “Toy Boy” for more than 50 years, beginning his career in the 1960s with Mobo T...oys before moving to Triang Toys. In the early 1970s, Edwards became a sales agent, initially representing a number of smaller toy companies. As his reputation grew, he went on to represent major names including Golden Bear, Tomy and Flair. Over the course of his career, Edwards played a part in the original UK launches of several hugely successful brands, including Teletubbies, Sylvanian Families and K’Nex — achievements of which he was particularly proud. In 2008, Edwards was awarded a Golden Teddy in recognition of his contribution to the toy industry. The peer recognition meant a great deal to him, and the award remained proudly displayed on the window sill of his office. Edwards’ son, Mark, followed him into the toy trade and worked alongside his father for many years. He remembered Mike as “everyone’s friend” who loved both the industry and the people within it.Show more

Peter Brennan, a respected figure in the British toy industry, has died. Born in Cardiff, South Wales, in 1941, Brennan began his career in sales before entering the toy trade with Lines Brothers/Tria...ng Toys, then one of the world’s largest toy companies. He later joined Condor Toys, a start-up within the JD Hutchinson group, where he quickly rose from Sales Manager to Sales Director. Brennan went on to serve as National Sales Manager at Dunby Combex Marx and Sales Director at R.F. Developments, building a reputation as a charismatic and highly accomplished salesman. In 1984, Brennan founded Toy Brokers, applying the successful food-broker model to the toy industry by distributing established brands to the UK grocery and retail trade. The company grew to represent a number of prominent toy brands, including Intex, Fuzzy Felt and Ideal Toys, whose portfolio included Rubik’s Cube. Brennan eventually sold the business upon his retirement in 2008. Brennan was also deeply involved in the wider toy industry community. He joined the Fence Club in 1991, later serving as Chairman in 2004–05 and Treasurer until 2015. Colleagues remembered him as a larger-than-life character, an impeccably dressed and gifted salesman whose distinctive Welsh voice and enthusiasm made him a memorable presence throughout the industry. After retiring, Brennan devoted much of his time to his passion for vintage Bentleys, rallying them around the world. He is survived by his family, friends and many former colleagues across the toy industry.Show more

Will Murray was born on April 28, 1953 and passed away on August 25, 2026. He is best known for his work as a writer and as the co-creator of the superhero Squirrel Girl. Will created Squirrel Gir...l with Steve Ditko, and she became a superheroine in the Marvel universe. Will wrote a number of novels, short stories, and comic books and was considered an expert on pulp magazines. He won many awards for his work, including the Lamont Award for his contributions to the furtherance of pulp fiction research, the Comic Book Marketplace award for research excellence in the area of comics history, the 2011 Pulp Ark Award for Best Series Revival for his work on The Wild Adventures of Doc Savage, the 2014 Pulp Factory Award for Best Novel for Doc Savage: Skull Island. He also won the Golden Lion Award for his contributions to the furtherance of the works of Tarzan creator, and received the First Fandom Hall of Fame Award in 2023 for his many career achievements.Show more

Peter Manning was one half of the Dixon Manning partnership, a duo of toy inventors. Alongside John Dixon, Peter brought so many wonderful toys to life, particularly the brand Air Hogs, which they par...tnered with Spin Master to create. Ben Varadi, co-founder of Spin Master, remembers him as "an absolutely incredible guy." "He was a great tinkerer, a true inventor and an amazing person. Just a joy of a guy," Ben remembers. "To me, he was so classically British, like that classic cynic. At the same time, he had a terrific sense of humour. It’s funny, because – like a lot of great partnerships – they were very different. John Dixon was a much more dour guy. He was a marketer; Peter was an engineer – and a great engineer; a really pragmatic guy. I can’t say enough amazing things about Peter and John. They don’t make them like those guys anymore."Show more

John Constantine Fusi passed away on July 9, 2016. John led a very full and impressive life, starting his career at age 21 as an assistant college professor of Advanced Organic Chemistry. Over the yea...rs, he also taught at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), teaching Quality Control and Toy Development, and later as an instructor of Cosmology in the FDU FILL (Florham Institute for Lifelong Learning) program. At age 33, he was recognized in Who's Who of the Toy Industry, and in September 2016, his work was honored with the prestigious Toy of the Year Award. John also founded JCF Research Associates Inc., his engineering and product development firm, and ran it for more than thirty-five years. John leaves behind his loving wife, Sue, his daughter, Melissa, and his two granddaughters, Lyra and Kyara.Show more

Peter Cullen was born on July 28, 1941 and passed away on August 26, 2026 at the age of 85. Peter was best known as the voice actor behind Optimus Prime. Peter was born in Montreal and was part of ...the first graduating class of the National Theatre School of Canada. In the 1960s and 1970s, Peter had a few different roles: he played an astronaut named Commander Bi Bi Latuque for the children's show The Buddies, he was the announcer for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, had a reoccurring role in a segment on CBC Radio called Funny You Should Say That, and he was a regular on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show. In the 1980s, Peter Cullen landed the voice acting role of Optimus Prime in the Transformers animated series. He reprised his role in the 2007 Transformers live-action film, the sequels Revenge of the Fallen, Dark of the Moon, Age of Extinction and The Last Knight, the reboot and its sequel, Bumblebee[8] and Rise of the Beasts and the video games based on the film series. He again voiced Optimus Prime in the video games Transformers: War for Cybertron, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron and Transformers: Devastation, and in the television series Transformers: Rescue Bots, Transformers: Prime and Transformers: Robots in Disguise. His performance in the premiere season of Transformers: Prime earned him a nomination for a 2011 Daytime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program category. Aside from Optimus Prime, Peter voice many other famous characters, including Coran, Stride the Tiger Fighter, and King Alfor in the Lion Voltron series, the transforming spaceship/robot Ramrod, the heroic Commander Eagle and the villainous Nemesis in the 1980s anime series Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs, Commander James Hawkins in the Vehicle Voltron series, Eeyore in the Winnie the Pooh franchise, the original voice of KARR in Knight Rider, Antor and Bomba, and Gunner, in Dino-Riders, Airborne, Zandar and Nemesis Enforcer in G.I. Joe. He played Mantor/Mantys in Coleco's 5 episode mini-series Sectaurs in 1986; Red Skull in Spider-Man (1981), Klaar and Zanzoar in Megas XLR and Mantus in The Pirates of Dark Water. In 2010, Hasbro inducted Peter as one of the first hour humans into the Transformers Hall of Fame. In 2023, Peter was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.Show more

Marjane was born on November 22, 1969 and passed away on June 4, 2026. She was an Iranian and French comic book author, film director, and children's book author best known for her graphic novel Perse...polis. Marjane garnered worldwide attention for her autobiographical comic books, Persepolis and Persepolis 2, which depict her childhood in Iran and adolescence in Europe following the Iranian revolution. In 2019, Persepolis ranked 47th on The Guardian's list of the 100 best books of the 21st century. In 2024, it ranked 48th on the New York Times's list of the 100 best books of the 21st century. Persepolis was eventually adapted to a film, which debuted at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. In 2008, it was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 80th Academy Awards. It also won Best First Film at the César Awards. Marjane went on to direct and act in a number of films while also being politically active. She contributed to the op-ed section of the New York Times as well. Marjane married Mattias Ripa, who passed away on April 8, 2025. Afer his death, Marjane was severely depressed and in April 2026, visited a clinic to help work through her depression. Two months later, she passed away. Her family said she had "died of sadness" over her husband's death.Show more

John was born on October 26, 1948 and passed away on June 1, 2026. He was a British fantasy and science fiction illustrator best known for his work on Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Warhammer Fantasy Rolep...lay, Warhammer 40,000, and Warhammer Age of Sigmar. He was also the art director for Games Workshop. It wasn't until 1977 that John got involved with Games Workshop, illustrating the cover art for issue 4 of their gaming publication White Dwarf. He continued working for them through the late 70s and into the early 80s. In 1986, the company moved to Nottingham, and it was at this time that John became art director. John also illustrated many fantasy gamebooks, including the Fighting Fantasy series. John retired in 2023, but continued to work in the miniature wargames industry, licensing his name to a range of paints inspired by his style.Show more

Robert Lee "Peabo" Bryson was born on April 13, 1951 and passed away on June 2, 2026. Peabo was an American singer and songwriter, and contributed to several Disney animated feature soundtracks throug...hout his career, including "Beauty and the Beast" and "A Whole New World." Peabo started his career at just 14 years old, singing backup for Al Freeman and the Upsetters. In 1976, he launched his own recording career with "Underground Music" on the Bang label. He recorded "A Whole New World," the main theme for Disney's animated Aladdin, in 1992, collaborating with Regina Belle. They went on to win a Grammy for their performance of the song in 1994. In 1993, he and Celine Dion also won a Grammy for their performance of "Beauty and the Beast."Show more

Matthieu was born on October 10, 1965 and passed away on June 3, 2026. He was a French businessman and board game designer best known for founding Cocktail Games. Through Cocktail Games, he created ga...mes including Contrario and Illico Presto. Matthieu also contributed to the development of the Union of Game Publishers and was involved in the Accessijeux board.Show more